Full Knee Dislocation, Foot Drop...Will I ski again?

**HansE88d** · 12-02-2006, 04:36 PM

Friday October 13th, 2006

Well I was hiking in Idaho and fell off the trail, ended up falling off a pretty serious cliff (Anyone that knows twin falls area, knows the canyon). Well I dont know the exact distance I was in the air, but when I hit the ground my right leg got stuck in a pile of rock and my weight litterally twisted my leg at the knee about 180 degrees. Therefore it looked like my foot was on backwards..I thought I was dead or something but made it to the hosptial. Well that was 2 months ago and I suffered a full knee dislocation with complete tear of the LCL, PCL, and ACL, basically everything that had to tear to allow my leg to go on backwards. In this process I also stretched and ripped the peroneal nerve in half, therefore I'm now unable to move my foot (known as a foot drop).

Well I had surgery 5 weeks ago, the accident happened 13th of October.

I had a graft surgery on the PCL only and then a seperate surgury for a peroneal nerve graft. So the PCL, ACL and possibly MCL are still torn. It hurts like a mother******* but my main concern is getting back on the slopes.

They tell me with a foot drop I will not be able to move my foot again, I'm currently in a splint and an AFO brace to keep my foot at a 90* angle.

pics:

these are right out of the emergency room, no surgery yet:

Here are pics after the surgery, Last week of october.

November 6th, 2006 photos, after cast was removed:

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS ARE OF A GRAPHIC NATURE, VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK.

This is the new splint and piece that keeps my foot at a 90* angle.

I'm a big dude, 5' 11"/210lbs, look at how swelled the bad leg is compared to my good leg.

Over 60 staples were removed

60 staples.

Surgery Blows IMO.

The bill for the FIRST surgery....the "cheap one"

Tuesday November 14th, 2006 Pictures...one month later.

I'm healing up, just wondered if anyone on here has had a foot drop and been able to ski with it? I know the knee will recover, but its the nerve damage that I'm worried about.

**Camel Toad** · 12-02-2006, 06:57 PM

Holy Shit!

Damn that's fucked up. But there is some hope for you.
check this thread

**FrankZappa** · 12-02-2006, 07:33 PM

Heal up man. Look on the bright side... with your leg on backwards you'll give new meaning to "switch to the road" and besides, who can move thie foot when it's in a ski boot any way?.

bc · 12-02-2006, 07:38 PM

no JONG for you. ouch. heal up mang. hope someone here has some real advice. makes our countless lesser injuries pale in perspective.

**iceman** · 12-03-2006, 12:29 AM

Holy shit dude.

I have nothing worthwhile to add, except that most things are possible if you want it bad enough.

Yow.

**HansE88d** · 12-03-2006, 07:37 AM

Mainly came here to see if anyone with my flavor of bruise is skiing again...Or what sort of knee injuries you guys have recovered from....

I'm not a big time skiier anyway...but I still like to hit the snow a few times a year. I guess if it does not happen again..whatever...maybe by the time they get a new tram I will be in better shape.

Let me tell ya guys though, be careful, no jumping off cliffs unless there is powder underneath ya. Keep that in mind this season.

**caddah** · 12-03-2006, 12:31 PM

Believe it or not right now....You are very lucky. Just to have your leg. Its going to be hard road to recovery but it is definately attainable. How bad you want it will make the difference. I dislocated my knee (check my thread, i think its already been linked here) I severed an artery which made my initial recovery hell. I only bruised my nerve. So i did regain movement of my foot. I am still recovering after more than a year. But I am walking normally and going in for reconstructive knee surgery in two weeks to hopefully get back as close to normal as possible.

I dont know what doctors have told you about foot drop. Nerves take a very long time to heal. It could take years. I still dont have feeling in most of my lower leg. If your nerve is severed and un-repearable there is still hope. I have actually heard of procedures where doctors have taken nerves that fire your claf muscles and run them between the tibia and fibula to connect back to the ankle to regain motion.

Ask as many questions as you can and read all the info you can. If you have any questions feel free to get in touch with me.

Saw your pictures of the prescriptions too. Senna will make you poop. I garuntee it.

**gimpy** · 12-12-2006, 08:07 PM

wow. thats some serious shit. while not anywhere near what you've been dealt, i broke my heel years ago and have really limited ROM of my left foot. fortunately, skiing and mtn biking are my 2 favorite activities and it really doesn't hinder either of them (well, maybe a lil while biking). the beauty of skiing for folks w/ bum feet is that a ski boot makes it so you can't move your foot anyway so i'd guess you'll be able to ski again. in fact, you may find yourself skiing a lot more since it will be one of the few physical activities that you can do. at least thats the excuse i give my wife when she wonders why i ski so damn much

. good luck man!!!

and your doc should really be prescribing you the 10s instead of the 5's

**muffin** · 10-25-2007, 01:28 AM

Hi, I would like to know if your leg has improved. My 17 year old daughter s dislocated her knee 8 weeks ago with a dropped foot like you. She has spent the last 3 weeks in hospital but no one seems to know why the foot has dropped and turns out. I am sure she must have damaged her nerve like you. She is so despondent because "they won't fix it" and she envisages being a "cripple" for the rest of her life.

**Theodore** · 10-25-2007, 01:43 PM

Lookin for an update too!

I did my ACL, PCL and a 3rd of my hamstring completely and alllllmost completely tore my PCL playing football. I was lucky, had no nerve damage, and am 99.9% back to normal. Have you had any improvement/ return of function? Shit man, that is a bad accident, but your pics do look familiar! Can't say they are good memories, but it did put things in perspective.

**HansE88d** · 10-25-2007, 03:36 PM

No, I still have the foot drop, I sent you a PM

**amyzilla** · 10-26-2007, 12:11 AM

Muffin, I don't have any advice for you, but I hope your daughter has a full & quick recovery.

**drmark** · 10-26-2007, 07:34 PM

The prognosis for recovery of the common peroneal nerve is not good. You should consider having a transfer of the posteior tibial tendon to imporve the foot drop.

Assuming the knee comes out ok, it likely that you will recover well enough to ski again.

**gorper** · 02-12-2008, 03:53 PM

Well, I don't know if the original poster is still around...but I have perineal nerve palsy in one leg -- the nerve is about 90% dead (I can raise my foot a little bit using my big toe). I can push my foot down and in; I'm just not really able to do up and out. I was born this way.

I am a lifelong skier, ski-bummed in Utah, have taught skiing, have owned seasons passes for perhaps 20+ seasons, do a lot of touring, hut trips every year, bla bla bla.

No one I have ever skied with has been able to tell that I've got this nerve damage, even though I am essentially missing the muscle on my shin, cannot really lift my foot/push it out to the side, have torn and destroyed all of the ligaments on the outer ankle (misdiagnosed as sprains in my youth), have a *significantly* smaller right glute (~60% smaller than left), and smaller right quad/calf.

Anyway, you can compensate and get out there if you want to.

**AdamShep** · 02-10-2009, 04:59 PM

Hey

It has taken me a while to find a forum addressing foot drop!!

First day this year I hit the slopes, brand new skis. Going down my 4th run I hit a mogle pretty hard, bindings released. I let myself fall...When I got up I noticed I couldnt move my leg. Well the ski cut my leg pretty bad and in doing so severed the CPN. Im 20 and a medical student and just want to find out how people are doing with foot drop.

My Knowledge: Nerves grow roughly 1mm a day, the shorter the graft needed to connect the nerve the better, the evidence regarding age/sex/time of treatment currently seems quite inconclusive. So ultimately it seems like proper pot luck whether function returns (my surgeon says I am looking at 80% function at best).

...So it seems pretty variable. I used to be a competitive tennis player and am currently getting to grips with not being able to run. BUT I figure skiing should be pretty possible, and everyones posts has given me a lot of hope

.

Questions: Is there anyone here who has recovered from foot drop??? How are the AFO and other orthotics, can u run in any of them???

**gorper** · 02-27-2009, 10:02 PM

If you get 80% back you'll be a happy guy, and I hope your recovery goes well.

You will NOT want an AFO from a run-of-the mill orthotics guy. The white plastic things that most patients get are not usable for active people. If you do need one, find someone who understands your need to participate in sports and how to accommodate it. There are apparently some carbon fiber or other high-tech AFOs out there, but I haven't used them, just one-piece and hinged molded plastic AFOs, both of which sucked.

One thing you'll be more susceptible to with the dropfoot is ankle sprains. When you lift your leg and move sideways during sports, the foot drops, catches, and the ankle rolls. *Strongly* consider wearing a brace prophylactically -- I am in to see an ankle surgeon soon to see about a joint re-build due to repeated injury over the years. This goes *especially* for tennis, I hate to say.

For running, I use an ASO ankle brace. It lifts the foot enough and is light. http://www.asoankle.com/ -- I bought mine from Tennis Warehouse. Snug it tight with the straps, not with the laces -- this keeps the Achilles heel from getting chafed. Last fall I ran a 1/2 marathon. I'm not fast but managed 1:40-ish. I ran about a 7:00 mile pace at the 10k distance last summer.

For backpacking, I wear an AirCast (the full-on big one used for bad sprains). The stirrup in the brace and the boot keep the foot up and the ankle supported under the weight of a big pack. Again, you'll be susceptible to ankle sprains; the AirCast does the trick for me. Depending on the boot, I remove the outer air bladder and just use the inner. Heavy socks keep the outer ankle from getting beaten up.

For skiing, I have custom footbeds and custom liners, the latter of which take up the slack in the leg due to atrophied muscle on the shin. Without the dorsiflexion, you'll be more likely to get in the back seat. Have a bootfitter install a spoiler behind the calf to keep you over your skis.

Do lots of balancing exercises on the bad leg. You will lose some glute strength on the damaged side, so pay attention to that, too. I have had troubles with a really tight Achilles; you may need to work on stretching it.

All this said, if you have 80% recovery, I wonder if the only time you'll have issues is when you're tired.

Again, good luck with the healing.

**Swathorse** · 01-21-2014, 10:02 PM

I too dislocated my right knee, July 31,'12. Severed the popliteal artery, stretched the same nerve as you did, tore ACL, PCL, LCL. I Too have foot drop. Before I go on with anymore details, is there anyone still on this forum with any updates. I noticed the dates on most entries are from 2006.

Originally Posted by HansE88d

Friday October 13th, 2006

Well I was hiking in Idaho and fell off the trail, ended up falling off a pretty serious cliff (Anyone that knows twin falls area, knows the canyon). Well I dont know the exact distance I was in the air, but when I hit the ground my right leg got stuck in a pile of rock and my weight litterally twisted my leg at the knee about 180 degrees. Therefore it looked like my foot was on backwards..I thought I was dead or something but made it to the hosptial. Well that was 2 months ago and I suffered a full knee dislocation with complete tear of the LCL, PCL, and ACL, basically everything that had to tear to allow my leg to go on backwards. In this process I also stretched and ripped the peroneal nerve in half, therefore I'm now unable to move my foot (known as a foot drop).

Well I had surgery 5 weeks ago, the accident happened 13th of October.

I had a graft surgery on the PCL only and then a seperate surgury for a peroneal nerve graft. So the PCL, ACL and possibly MCL are still torn. It hurts like a mother******* but my main concern is getting back on the slopes.

They tell me with a foot drop I will not be able to move my foot again, I'm currently in a splint and an AFO brace to keep my foot at a 90* angle.

pics:

these are right out of the emergency room, no surgery yet:

Here are pics after the surgery, Last week of october.

November 6th, 2006 photos, after cast was removed:

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING PHOTOS ARE OF A GRAPHIC NATURE, VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK.

This is the new splint and piece that keeps my foot at a 90* angle.

I'm a big dude, 5' 11"/210lbs, look at how swelled the bad leg is compared to my good leg.

Over 60 staples were removed

60 staples.

Surgery Blows IMO.

The bill for the FIRST surgery....the "cheap one"

Tuesday November 14th, 2006 Pictures...one month later.

I'm healing up, just wondered if anyone on here has had a foot drop and been able to ski with it? I know the knee will recover, but its the nerve damage that I'm worried about.

**Swathorse** · 01-21-2014, 10:03 PM

Are you still recovering , would like to compare notes.?

**Swathorse** · 01-21-2014, 10:13 PM

Are you still on this forum. May have some helpful info and can compare notes. I have drop foot since 2012. Am able to run.

**54-46** · 01-21-2014, 11:58 PM

My 6 y/o daughter (at the time) had zero nerve conduction in her peroneal/fibular nerve 2 years ago due to a piece of bone crushing the nerve at the back if her knee and she was skiing.

She frequently was in a less than optimal position while skiing but she kept at it. The nerve recovered after surgery to remove the bone. Atypical recovery, but there is a chance.

You may have to make some adaptations, but we'll send some positive vibes that you'll be able to get out there again at some point.